Wolves

Chapter 1

In the woods, through the night, you can hear them howl. Like a heavy blue one to love and one to lose. Carrying through the wind, a stream flowing in the water. So beautiful, so sweet, sounds that don’t fade even a mile away. So strong, so fierce, quick, and smart, it’s the wolves that know where to go.

“Amanda, wake up. We're here.”

I opened my eyes to see the beautiful city of Seoul.

“Oh wow,” I exclaimed. “So beautiful.”

“Sure is. This has to be one of my favorite places,” said my husband, Taylor. We looked at each other and smiled.

This is one of the most special places to be. I love everything about this country, the culture, the beauty, the love, and the forest.

I may be a model, but I love nature; whenever I get the chance, I go outside and just run. Nature's world is so beautiful and loving; it gives us so much, and it’s wonderful.

The lights are so beautiful at night; I can’t wait to explore more. Each time I come here, I discover something new; it’s fascinating. Since I am retiring from modeling, I am definitely moving here.

As we reach our hotel, I notice some festival lights. I roll down my window and see the fireworks and music. I was completely in awe,

“So beautiful,” I say.

Taylor looks over with a smile and says, “You always seem to find beauty.”

I looked over and smiled as we continued to drive to the hotel.

As soon as we got checked into our room, I immediately lay on the bed.

“Are you going to take a shower or sleep in the same underwear that you’ve had on for two days?” asked Taylor.

I mumbled, “Can’t I just rest for like five minutes?”

“You can do plenty of that after your retirement,” he said.

“I know, I know. But can you not be my manager for five minutes and let me have peace.’

He chuckles. “Of course, dear.” He leans over and kisses my head. “I’m going to get ice and some drinks.”

“Okay, can you get me some tea, please?”

“Which one?’

“Mulberry Leaf.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back,” he says as he walks out the door.

I lay on the bed for a few minutes before I got up and walked to the window. I looked down to see the town and watch the people. Then I looked up and saw the stars, which were shining so brightly. I stood there for a few minutes, then I went to the shower. Once I got out, I heard a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” Taylor Hollars

I got dressed quickly to see who had come to visit. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom door, I was greeted.

“There you are, darling,” said Jackie. “You should have texted me when you got here. You know I have to see my favorite person.”

“We just arrived not too long ago, Jackie. I was going to message you in the morning since it's getting late.”

“No need to now, darling; I’m here.” She laughs.

I look over to my husband, who doesn’t have such a pleasant look on his face. I shrug my shoulders as she walks past me to the living area.

“It’s awful late, Jackie; shouldn’t you get some sleep for tomorrow’s shoot?” I ask.

“Oh, darling, you're as sweet as ever,” she says as she sits down. "I won't stay long; I just wanted to check in." She smiles. “Now, darling, tell me about your trip to California." I heard the weather was nice and that your shoot was just stunning. I heard so many say how beautiful you were to work with.”

“Oh, it was fun," I say as I sat down next to her. "They were all very respectful and kind to work with.”

Jackie smiles, "I see. I also heard something about you retiring and adopting children?"

I was taken aback; how did she know? "I..."

Brrrrring.

“Oh, hold that thought, dear.” She took out her phone to answer her call.

“Oh, Danny, how are you, darling?” She turned to me, ’ll be just a moment" She whispered to me and walked off.

As she walked away, I looked over to see Taylor leaning in the doorway.

“I know, I know.”

He sighs. "She's not your friend.”

“Don't say that," I say.

He sighs. “Honey, the last time she came over, she tried to convince you that the outfits changed for the shoot. She almost ruined it. If we didn't have the photographer's number, she would have ruined the shoot.”

I sigh, "It’s hard to just drop her; we’ve been friends since high school. Plus, I feel guilty."

“Right, because you were picked first. Always have been because you're beautiful. You shouldn't feel guilty; you were the one who suggested her and got her the job. And instead of showing gratitude towards you, she was bitter and nasty she was towards you?"

"I know, but..."

“But nothing, you got her into this career; she’s always late, never wants to cooperate with the photographer. She always acts all high and mighty just like back then; she has not changed a bit.”

I sigh as Jackie comes back and says, “Oh, Amanda darling, I’m so sorry, but I must take my leave. Danny wants to meet up.” She winks and laughs. “Oh, and good luck tomorrow; it's going to be beautiful.”

I get up and say, "You too. See you tomorrow."

She looks back to smile at me as she walks out the door.

“Thank goodness, she is gone,” says Taylor. “Now we can get some sleep.” He says as he lifts me.

“You're very annoying.” I laugh.

“Well, one of us has to be.” He kisses me. “Mhm, one more thing: the girls.”

I look at him, confused.

He smiles and says, “It got approved.”

I hug him tight around the neck as I squeal with excitement. We have wanted this for years. We have tried multiple times to have our own, but when we found out he's infertile, we switched to adopting. When we were in New York, we did a charity for an orphanage; there we found two girls, both twelve years old, who had lost their parents in a fire. We decided to talk to them, and they told us all about their mom and dad. They even still had their family picture; we immediately fell in love with them and started the process of adoption.

At first, there wasn’t much hope since we were constantly moving from one place to another. I was ready to quit right there; Taylor was behind me as a husband, but as a manager, he said it would be the wrong time. If I were to quit now, what would our backup plan be? I understood, so we decided on an early retirement, then to settle. We both agreed on starting our own agency. We both have experience: him as the owner and me as a coach. We told the agency, and they seemed pleased. The social worker saw how well we got along with the girls and pushed forward the adoption. We went before the judge as well and told him our plan. He was happy to hear our plan and put our adoption further into motion. Our social worker told us it may be a few months or so before the decision was made; we were going to wait in New York until a high-paying gig became available. They wanted me to model in the Victoria's Secret summer show. I was so honored yet sad I was going to decline; Taylor was going to do it before me. He wanted these girls just as much as I did, but when we looked at it from a financial standpoint, we had to keep our account full for these girls and our plan. We talked to our social worker and the judge. They agreed to let us go, as it was seen as maintaining stability. But one agreement was that we would find a home and country to settle in; we agreed. We told the girls, who were sad and worried that we would leave them there. We reassured them that we would be back, and promised to call. They seemed better after that, and we kept our promise; we called them daily.

I pulled away from Taylor. "Oh, we need to call the girls."

He smiled. "Actually, the social worker is bringing them here."

"What?" I said, shocked.

He kissed me. "We finally got our little angels."

I smiled as he threw me into bed, and we fell into a bliss of sleep.